Holocaust Museum expresses concern on Syrian refugee crisis

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum is expressing concern about the United States’ response to the global refugee crisis, citing the consequences to millions of Jews who were unable to flee Nazism.

The museum said in a statement Tuesday that in the 1930s and 1940s, the United States and many other countries refused to admit Jewish refugees from Nazism.

The statement says anti-Semitic attitudes and national security fears were among the reasons for turning away Jewish refugees.

The museum says there are legitimate refugees fleeing Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime and genocidal acts by the Islamic State group.

The museum’s statement comes after President Donald Trump’s immigration order temporarily suspending all immigration for citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries. Its statement urged that U.S. policy should address security concerns while protecting legitimate refugees.

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